CAR SEAT HAVING BUCKLE WITH VISUAL FEEDBACK

SIEGE D'AUTO AYANT UNE BOUCLE AVEC RETROACTION VISUELLE

English Abstract

A car seat including a seat body having a seat back and a seat pan for
receiving an
occupant thereon, and at least one shoulder harness coupled to the seat body
and being located to
fit over the torso of an occupant to retain the occupant on the seat body. The
car seat further
includes a buckle for releasably coupling the shoulder harness to the seat
body, the buckle
including a bracket coupled to the shoulder harness and a base coupled to the
seat body. The
bracket includes a gripping portion and a tongue and is releasably couplable
to the base. The
buckle is in a latched condition when the bracket is coupled to the base and
is in an unlatched
condition when the bracket is not coupled to the base. One of the gripping
portion or the base
includes a notification portion that has a visual property different from any
adjacent areas of the
one of the gripping portion or the base. The notification portion is visible
when the buckle is in
the unlatched condition and the visual property of the notification portion is
generally obscured
by the other of the gripping portion or the base when the buckle is in the
latched condition.

Claims

What is Claimed is:
1. A car seat comprising:
a seat body having a seat back and a seat pan for receiving an occupant
thereon;
at least one shoulder harness coupled to said seat body and being located to
fit
over the torso of an occupant to retain said occupant on said seat body; and
a buckle for releasably coupling said shoulder harness to said seat body, said
buckle including a bracket coupled to said shoulder harness and a base coupled
to said seat body,
said bracket including a gripping portion and a tongue and being releasably
couplable to said
base, said buckle being in a latched condition when said bracket is coupled to
said base and being
in an unlatched condition when said bracket is not coupled to said base, and
wherein one of said
gripping portion or said base includes a notification portion that has a
visual property different
from any adjacent areas of said one of said gripping portion or said base, and
wherein said
notification portion is visible when said buckle is in said unlatched
condition and wherein said
visual property of said notification portion is generally obscured by the
other of said gripping
portion or said base when said buckle is in said latched condition.
2. The car seat of claim 1 wherein said notification portion is located on an
upper surface
of said base.
3. The car seat of claim 2 wherein said notification portion extends along at
least about 1/4
of the perimeter of said base.
4. The car seat of claim 1 wherein said notification portion has a color
different from
adjacent areas of said buckle when said buckle is in said latched condition.
5. The car seat of claim 1 wherein said base includes a base opening, and
wherein said
tongue is received in said base opening when said buckle is in said latched
condition.
6. The car seat of claim 5 wherein said tongue including a tongue opening, and
wherein
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said base includes a spring-loaded latch that is received in said tongue
opening when said buckle
is in said latched condition.
7. The car seat of claim 1 wherein said notification has a surface area of at
least 0.35
square inches.
8. The car seat of claim 1 further comprising a base belt coupled to said seat
pan and to
said base to thereby couple said base to said seat pan.
9. The car seat of claim 1 wherein said base includes a base opening and said
tongue
includes a tongue opening and is shaped to be received in said base opening,
said gripping
portion being located adjacent to said base when said buckle is in said
latched condition, and
wherein said notification portion is located on said gripping portion.
10. A car seat comprising;
a seat body having a seat back and a seat pan for receiving an occupant
thereon;
a pair of shoulder harnesses coupled to said seat body and being located to
fit over
the torso of an occupant to retain said occupant on said seat body; and
a buckle for releasably coupling said shoulder harnesses to said seat body,
said
buckle including a pair of brackets, each bra,eket being coupled to one of
said shoulder harnesses,
and a base coupled to said seat body, each bracket being shaped to be
releasably coupled to said
base, said buckle being in a latched condition when each bracket is coupled to
said base and
being in an unlatched condition when at least one of said brackets is not
coupled to said base, and
wherein said base includes a notification portion that has a visual property
different from any
adjacent areas of said brackets or said base when said buckle is in said
latched condition, and
wherein each bracket is located in front of said notification portion to
generally cover said
notification portion when said buckle is in said latched condition and wherein
at least one of said
brackets is not located in front of said notification portion when said buckle
is in said unlatched
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condition such that said notification portion is at least partially visible to
a user.
11. A car seat comprising:
a seat body having a seat back and a seat pan for receiving an occupant
thereon;
at least one shoulder harness coupled to said seat body and being located to
fit
over the torso of an occupant to retain said occupant on said seat body;
a bracket coupled to said shoulder harness; and
a base coupled to said seat body, said bracket including a tongue portion and
a
gripping portion and being shaped to be releasably coupled to said base, and
wherein one of said
gripping portion or said base includes a notification portion that has a
visual property different
from any adjacent areas of the associated one of said gripping portion or said
base, and wherein
the other one of said gripping portion or base covers said notification
portion when said bracket
is coupled to said base and wherein said other one of said gripping portion or
base does not cover
said notification portion when said bracket is not coupled to said base.
12. A method for securing an occupant in a car seat comprising the steps of:
providing a car seat having a seat body having a seat back and a seat pan for
receiving an occupant thereon, at least one shoulder harness coupled to said
seat body, and a
buckle including a bracket coupled to said shoulder harness and a base coupled
to sand seat body,
wherein said base includes a notification portion that has a visual property
different from any
adjacent areas of said base, said notification portion being visible;
locating an occupant on said seat body;
locating said shoulder harness over a torso of said occupant; and
coupling said bracket to said base to couple said shoulder harness to said
base
such that said bracket generally covers said notification portion.
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Description

CA 02358814 2001-10-11
Attorney Docket No.: 451189-853-2
CAR SEAT HAVING BUCKLE WITH V>CSUAL FEEDBACK
This application claims priority to U'.S. Provisional App. Serial No.
60/239,497, filed
October 11, 2000, the contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference.
The present invention is directed to a cat seat having a buckle, and more
parhicularly, to a
car seat having a buckle which provides visual feedback to confirm when the
buckle is properly
latched.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENT10N
Cat seats are designed to be coupled to the seat of an automotive vehicle and
are shaped
to securely receive a child or infant therein. A car seat typically includes a
seat shell or seat body
having a seat back and a seat pan. A pair of harnesses extend from the seat
back, over the
shoulders of the occupant, and are releasably coupled to a buckle connected to
the seat pan to
securely retain the occupant in the car seat.
The harnesses of a car seat are typically latched in place by a buckle. When,
the harnesses
are received therein, the buckle should be securely latched to ensure the
occupant is secured in
the car seat. Therefore, it is important to confirm that the buckle is
securely latched in place.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTTON
The present invention is a car seat having a buckle that provides visual
feedback to
confirm when the buckle is securely latched. In a one embodiment, the
invention is a car seat
including a seat body having a seat back and a seat pan for receiving an
occupant thereon, and at
least one shoulder harness coupled to the seat body and being located to fit
over the torso of an
occupant to retain the occupant on the seat body. The car seat ;further
includes a buckle for
releasably coupling the shouldez harness to the seat body, the buckle
including a bracket coupled
to the shoulder harness and a base coupled to the seat body. The bracket
includes a gripping
portion and a tongue and is releasably couplable to the base. The buckle is in
a latched condition
when the bracket is coupled to the base and is in an unlatched condition when
the bracket is not
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CA 02358814 2001-10-11
Attorney Docket No.: 451189-853-2
coupled to the base. One of the gripping portion or the base includes a
notification portion that
has a visual property different from any adjacent areas of the one of the
gripping portion or the
base. The notification portion is visible when the buckle is in the unlatched
condition and the
visual property of the notification portion is generally obscured by the ether
of the gripping
portion or the base when the buckle is in the latched condition.
Other objects and advantages of the present invention will be apparent from
the following
description and the accompanying drawings.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWItVGS
Fig. 1 is a front perspective view of one embodiment of the car seat of the
present
invention, shown in its latched condition;
Fig. 2 is a front perspective view of the car seat of Fig. I, shown in its
unlatched
condition;
Fig. 3 is a front perspective view of the buckle of the car seat of Fig. 1;
Fig. 4 is a front view of the buckle of the car seat of Fig. 1, shown in its
latched
condition;
Fig. 5 is a front view of the buckle of Fig. 4, with one of the brackets in an
unlatched
condition;
Fig. 6 is a front view of the buckle of the car seat of Fig. 1, shown in its
unlatched
condition; and
Fig. 7 is a side view of the buckle of the car seat of rig. 1.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
As shown in Figs. 1 and 2, the present invention is a car seat, generally
designated 10,
having a relatively rigid shell or seat body I2 ha~~ing a seat pan I4 and a
seat back 16. The car
seat 10 may include a layer of cushioned material 18 tightly fit around the
shell 12 to provide
comfort to the occupant.
The car seat 10 includes a pair of be?.ts or shoulder harnesses 20, 22 that
are shaped and
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CA 02358814 2001-10-11
Attorney Docket No.: 451189-853-2
located to fit around the shoulder or torso of an occupant to retain the
occupant on the seat pan
14. Each harness 20, 22 may be passed through one of a pair of openings 30, 32
(see Fig. 2) in
the seat pan 14 and wrapped around a rotatable spool 34 located below the seat
pan I4. The
spool 34 preferably includes a releasable ratchet mechanism such that the
spool 34 can be rotated
to tighten the harnesses 20, 22. The spool 34 also preferably includes a
tension release
mechanism (not shown) that can be actuated to enable the spool 34 to rotate in
a direction to
loosen the tension in the harnesses 20, 22. However, a wide variety of
tensioning mechanisms,
besides the spool 34, may be used without departing from the scope of the
invention.
The car seat 10 includes a buckle 50 for releasably coupling the harnesses 20,
22 to the
seat pan 14_ The buckle SO includes apair ofbrackets 38, 40, and each bracket
38, 40 is slidingly
and/or directly coupled to the associated shoulder harness 20, 22. Each
bracket 38, 40 includes a
gxipping portion 80 and a generally downwardly extending tongue 8I, 82. Each
gripping portion
80 has an upper loop 84 formed therein that is shaped to receive a harness 20,
22 therethrough.
Each tongue 81, 82 has an opening 60, 62 formed therein (see Fig. 6).
The buckle 50 includes a base 46 that is coupled to the seat pan 14 by a belt
buckle 48
passed through a slot 86 of the base 46. As shown in Figs. 6 and 7, the base
46 has a pair of slots
or openings 52, 54 formed along the top edge thereof, az~d each tongue 81, 82
is shaped to be
passed through one of the slots 52, 54 of the base 46 and reIeasably received
in the base 46. For
example, in one embodiment the base 46 includes one or more spzing biased
latches (not shown)
and each spring biased latch can be received in one of the opening 60, 62 to
couple the brackets
38, 40 to the base 46. The button 64 is actuable to move the spring biased
latch or latches out of
engagement with each tongue 8I, 82 such that each tongue 81, 82 can be removed
from the base
46, as in a standard buckle for a car seat or standard seat belt. When each
tongue 38, 40 is
securely received irz the base 46, the lower surface of each gripping portion
80 abuts against or is
located adjacent to the base 46, and the buckle 50 is in its latched
condition. However, it should
be understood that any of a wide variety of mechanisms for coupling the
tongues 81, 82 and
brackets 38, 40 to the base 46 may be used without departing from the scope of
the invention.
As shown in Fig. 6. the base 46 preferably includes a background portion, or
notification
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CA 02358814 2001-10-11
Attorney bocket No.: 451189-853-2
portion 90, that is made of a color or material so as to attract the attention
of a user. 7n other
words, the notification portion 90 preferably has a visual property that is
distinct from other
adj acent, visual portions of the buckle 50, and is preferably visually
distinct from any other
portions of the buckle 50, particularly when the buckle 50 is in its latched
or near-latched
condition. For example, the notification portion 90 preferably may have a
color (i.e. bright
yellow or red) or material propezty (i.e. roughened, smooth, reflective,
shiny, bumpy, ctc.) or
other property that is different from the majority of the rest of the base 46
or buckle 50 and that is
visible to a user when latching the buckle 50 (i.e., that is visible from a
front side of the car seat
10).
Tn the illustrated embodiment the notification portion 90 extends generally
upwardly from
an upper surface 41 of the base 46 and preferably extends around a significant
portion of the
perimeter of the base 46, such as about'/4 to about'/ or wore of the
perimeter. The notification
portion 90 is preferably located in a prominent position and sized to be large
enough to be
immediately visible to the user. For example, in the illustrated embodiment
the notification may
have a height of about 3/16" and extend for about 4'/a" around the perimeter
of the base such that
the notification has a surface area of about 0.84 square inches. However, the
surface area of the
notification portion may be increased or decreased as desired, and may be, for
example, as small
as about 0.35 square inches or less.
The notification portion 90 provides visual feedback to a user to confirm that
the buckle
50 is properly latched. Vl~hen the notification portion 90 is visible, the
user knows that one or
both of the brackets 38, 40 arc not properly received in the base 46, and that
the buckle 50 is not
latched. For example, Fig. 5 illustrates the buckle 50 wherein bracket 38 is
not fully received in
the base 46, and the notification portion 90 is visible between the bracket 38
and base 46. In
contrast, when the notification portion 90 is not visible or is generally
obscured, as shown in Fig.
4, the user lrnows that the buckle SO is properly latched. In this manner, the
buckle 50 of the
present invention helps to confirm that the child is securely received in the
car seat.
In an alternate embodiment, the brackets 38, 40 may only obscure or change the
visual
property of the notification portion. For example, the notification portion 90
may be made of the
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CA 02358814 2001-10-11
Attorney Docket No.: 451189-853-2
color yehow, and the brackets 38, 40 may include colored translucent portions
(i.e., blue
translucent panels) such that the notification portion 90 appears green when
the buckle 50 is
latched. Of course, various other methods for obscuring or varying the
properties of the
notification portion 90 can be used without departing from the scope of the
invention. Further,
instead of being located on the base 46, the notification portion 90 may be
located on the
brackets 38, 40 such that the notification portion is located behind the base
46 and therefore
hidden from view or otherwise obscured when the buckle 50 is in its latched
condition. In this
case, the notification portion 90 is preferably located on the gripping
portion 80 of each base.
Although Figs. 1 and 2 illustrate one embodiment of a car seat, it should be
understood
that the buckle 50 of the present invention may be used in nearly any car
seat. In particular,
many car seats include shoulder harnesses that pass through an opening in the
seat back and
extend along the seat back and to a tensioning mechanism located below the
seat pan. The
buckle 50 of the present invention can be used in nearly any car seat wherein
it is desired to
couple a shoulder harness to the base or seat pan, including but not limited
to the car seats
described above. Furthermore, although the invention is described and shown in
use with a pair
of brackets 38, 40, the invention may also be used in a car seat including
only a single bracket.
For example, the brackets 38, 40 may be coupled together, such as by a locking
clip or the like, to
form a single "bracket" that can then be coupled to the base 46.
~Iaving described the invention in detail and by reference to the preferred
embodiments, it
will be apparent that modifeations and variations thereof are possible without
departing from the
scope of the invention.
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Representative Drawing